User blog:Deathblade 100/Great War Snipers: Francis Pegahmagabow vs William Sing
As the Great War came to a close, many new weapons came to the fore: tanks, light machine guns, aircraft, poison gas, the submachine gun and others. But one tactic that had been frowned upon prior to the Great War suddenly came into the fore front: the sniper. Today, we will compare two of the British Commonwealth's best snipers on the First World War. Francis Pegamagabow- The Canadian First Nations sniper; who braved German machine gun fire to allow his company to repel a German assault in the Battle of Scarpe. VS. Billy Sing- The Chinese-Australian sniper; who claimed over 150 kills during the Gallipoli Campaign. WHO...IS...DEADLIEST? To find out the history of war and modern science collide, as we test the weapons and tactics used by these instruments of war. We dissect their strengths and weaknesses and file them in for an all new battle to the death. It’s no rules, no safety, no mercy. It’s a duel to the death as we find out who is the Deadliest Warrior. Franci Pegamagabow Francis Pegahmagabow was a First Nations soldier most highly decorated for bravery in Canadian military history and the most effective sniper of World War I. Three times awarded the Military Medal and seriously wounded, he was an expert marksman and scout, credited with killing 378 Germans and capturing 300 more.Later in life, he served as chief and a councilor for the Wasauksing First Nation, and as an activist and leader in several First Nations organizations. He corresponded with and met other noted aboriginal figures including Fred Loft, Jules Sioui, Andrew Paull and John Tootoosis. Weapons and major actions |-| Rifle= Ross M1910 *Calibre: .303 Enfield *Capacity: 5 *Reload: Stripper Clip/Individual Rounds *Straight Pull |-| Notable Battle= Battle of the Scarpe Francis Pegahmagabow was involved in fighting off a German attack at Orix Trench near Upton Wood. His company was almost out of ammunition and in danger of being surrounded. Pegahmagabow braved heavy machine gun and rifle fire by going into no-man's land and brought back enough ammunition to enable his post to carry on and assist in repulsing heavy enemy counter-attacks. For these efforts he received a second Bar to his Military Medal, becoming one of only 39 Canadians to receive this honour. Billy Sing William Edward "Billy" Sing was an Australian soldier of Chinese and English descent who served in the Australian Imperial Force during World War I, best known as a sniper during the Gallipoli Campaign. He took at least 150 confirmed kills during that campaign, and may have had over 200 kills in total. However, contemporary evidence puts his tally at close to 300 kills. Towards the end of the war, Sing married a Scottish woman, but the relationship did not last long. Following work in sheep farming and gold mining, he died in relative poverty and obscurity in Brisbane during World War II. Weapons and major actions |-| Rifle= SMLE No.1 Mk.3 *Calibre: .303 Enfield *Capacity: 10 *Reload: Stripper Clip/Individual Rounds *Turn bolt |-| Notable Battle= Chatham's Post Chatham's Post, a position named after a Light Horse officer, was Sing's first sniping post. Biographer Brian Tate wrote, "It was here that Billy Sing began in earnest his lethal occupation." An account by Private Frank Reed, a fellow Australian soldier, stated that Sing was so close to the Turkish lines that enemy artillery rarely troubled him. Sing's reputation resulted in a champion Turkish sniper, nicknamed 'Abdul the Terrible' by the Allied side, being assigned to deal with him. Tate alleges that the Turks were largely able to distinguish Sing's sniping from that of other ANZAC soldiers, and that only the reports of incidents believed to be Sing's work were passed on to Abdul. Through analysis of the victims' actions and wounds, Abdul concluded that Sing's position was at Chatham's Post. After several days, Sing's spotter alerted him to a potential target, and he took aim, only to find the target—Abdul—looking in his direction. Sing prepared to fire, trying not to reveal his position, but the Turkish sniper noticed him and began his own firing sequence. Sing fired first and killed Abdul. Very shortly thereafter, the Turkish artillery fired on Sing's position—he and his spotter barely managed to evacuate from Chatham's Post alive. Battle TBA Notes Battle is 1 vs 1 and set in montainous terrain with shell holes and trenches. Votes must be at least one paragraph long and have good spelling, punctuation and grammar. No bias. Voting ends on the 12th of December. Category:Blog posts